jahoor, neehoor

Sep 18, 2005 15:13

A- [YESNO-QUESTION] ?
B- jahoor/neehoor.

"jahoor" and "neehoor" are alternatives to use when "ja" or "nee" are too short. It can also indicate that B is surprised that A is asking, and thus it can seem more sincere.

It's like "oh yeah" / "oh no". It took me the longest time to figure this out. The difference is not semantic, but pragmatic.

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UPDATE: I'm trying to figure out when people use "jahoor" instead of "ja".

A- Bel ik gelegen?
B- Jahoor!

Kom je vanavond? Heb je een aansteker? Wil je wat drinken? Heb je nieuws over X? Ben je ziek? Heb je t boek gelezen? Ben je ervoor bereid?

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RS says that "hoor" is meant to reassure. If you say "jahoor" or "neehoor", you signal that you are presupposing the other person is worried about the question they just asked.

dutch, linguistics

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